Sen. Barack Obama was just on "The View" which is hosted by Barbara Walters, Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, and Sherri Shepherd. The View women had been pretty negative about Obama for a few episodes--they seemed very pro-Hillary. But on this show, you could see that Obama melted some hearts. By the end of the broadcast, the three (with the exception of Whoopi who seemed to be already a supporter and didn't want to behave too gaga) seemed to be in love.
Sherri Shepherd even said after hearing his race speech, she changed her vote from Hillary to him and was going to actively campaign for him.
Even Elisabeth, who was like an attack-dog when it came to the Rev. Wright-swiftboat-angle, seemed charmed. Obama addressed her arguments by saying that if someone had also extracted all the stupid things she's said and put them in a string and looped and showed it every day for weeks, people would also have a terrible impression of her.
Obama's answers to being asked about the first three things he'd do once he gets into office was, for me, his best moment. His first answer being he'd get all the joint chiefs and commanders connected with Iraq and have them prepare an orderly and honorable withdrawal. This elicited the greatest applause from the audience. Then he mentioned health care and tackling the energy crisis, which also brought in the love.
He also answered Joy's question about handling swiftboating well--saying Kerry, though he also took the high road, didn't respond quickly enough, allowing two weeks to go by. He, on the other hand, would respond quickly and with force. He also said his accomplished wife wouldn't sit at policy meetings and that Michelle was more interested in doing her own thing.
All in all, the episode was too short--people just wanted more of him. He was so clear, so eloquent, so practical, and yet so wise. We wish they had him on since the beginning of the show instead of the show going through their regular topics.
We are just so proud of him. Obama for President!
Update: as commenters mentioned, Obama's appearance on The View, which is Hillary-country and has its share of women conservative fans, will go a long way in introducing the Senator to this group who might only know him through sound-bites and have them gain confidence in Obama as President. The Senator also seemed to have done his homework before coming on to The View (a welcome change to Bush W.'s unprepared ramblings) because he addressed point by point Elizabeth's previous-episode's rants. Obama said as President he understands he must pass a higher bar than ordinary folks, that if Rev. Wright wasn't retiring and continued to espouse his controversial views and did not see the problem with them, then he would've stopped going. But he also pointed out the great work the Trinity church was involved in, spreading Christian values and charity. He also mentioned an example of Rev. Wright counseling an African-Amercian woman to go ahead with her marriage to a white man because race shouldn't come between the love of two people.